It Pays to Obtain Locked Up! Escape Rooms: The Marketing Experts' New Play Area



One might think that being locked up is a thing of headaches, well currently it's the brand-new cool. Sweeping en-vogue sector occasions such as the South By Southwest (SXSW) Meeting, the Escape Room is the attraction getting everybody talking. As well as it's not just the participants, since this newfangled love of immersive experience is opening a door to innovative advertising chances, as well.

What exactly is an Escape Area? You may ask. Picture this - you remain in a locked area. You have a couple of random ideas and also you have no concept how to venture out. You could believe this is simply an additional story from among the Saw film franchises but it is in reality the makings of an Escape Room experience. This 'craze' involves a group of as much as 12 players - depending on where you publication - that have to use psychological as well as physical agility to unlock door after door, moving from space to room hysterically finding out cryptic clues. The catch? You have simply 60 minutes to break cost-free.

Naturally this is not a new idea yet after years of virtual reality parading as the great big brother in the world of immersive experiences, escape rooms have been with confidence overcoming the experiential rankings to take the title of properly 'wow'. Not surprisingly, sharp marketing experts have tracked this and also are now discovering cutting-edge ways to make best use of the exposure to the experience. The 'linkup' design of advertising arrangement seems to be the ruling formula for this.

Famous examples to day consist of Disney hosting a pop-up escape experience linked with Rogue One: A Star Wars Tale. The Escape Game in Austin Texas (America's most popular escape experience) being taken over by FOX in time for the launch of a new series of Prison Break, as well as HBO setting up a multi-room installation themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, as well as Silicon Valley. Smart.

This style of marketing is additionally absolutely nothing new in itself, what makes it successful is that the items wed completely with the experience, and we recognize that customers are, more than ever, urged to invest their money on 'doing' instead than with conventional marketing techniques, i.e. simply 'watching'.

Marketing experts would introduce games after that host 'real world' experiences: events, competitors as well as interactions that matched the gameplay as well as made it tangible. The excellent partnership here would certainly be established on an equally helpful industrial relationship where the escape area business and the IP (or copyright) proprietors work together to gather maximum direct exposure and increase the customer base, motivating a 'win: win' plan.

Escape 60 in Brazil managed a blinding instance of this in 2015 when they linked up with Ubisoft, the creators of dream behemoth Assassin's Creed, to be successful of the game and develop an escape space coordinated around the launch of Assassin's Creed Organization. America's Escape Game, Marriott Vacations Worldwide as well as Vistana Trademark Experiences likewise teamed up to bring the worlds of friendliness as well as amusement together, which is now a growing pattern. Alex Reece, CEO of America's Escape Game, commented in a meeting at the time (October 2016), "We see a very intense future of incorporating escape rooms Escape Room NYC powered by America's Escape Game in numerous Vistana locations in the coming months and also years. There is no doubt that this powerful partnership will bring the taking off escape room experience to several fanatics throughout the globe."

Fast-forward to 2017, and that very same love of immersion drives much of the sophisticated marketing activations we see today in escape rooms. "I assume the immersion permits it to be much more individual and also personalized," Joanna Scholl, vice president of marketing at HBO claimed when estimated in a meeting at this year's SXSW conference. When asked about HBO: The Escape she mentioned, "Everyone feels like they themselves belong to that experience, and it leaves far more of an unforgettable note for them."

Ryan Coan owner of company Creative Riff, the experiential advertising and marketing professionals that were the designers of the Prison Break escape area takeover likewise commented at the very same event: "Experiential advertising and marketing is unique because it's an interaction. It's something followers are choosing to do. Followers are so obsessive over this web content, they're so in love with these personalities and their stories, that by permitting them to tip inside that story and feel like they belong of it - also for a moment - is an actually unique experience."

Layout and also development is at the leading edge of this wise advertising trend as each room may have a different style or trouble level where the hints will certainly also be themed around the topic of each space. The high quality of the area needs to be superb and also the immersion factor at the fore. The even more the individuals seem like they are 'part of that area' the more of an enduring effect the experience will certainly have. This means competition is strong and also marketers need to be sharper than ever to discover that excellent 'hook'. That said, it does not resemble this marketing method is slowing up, so keep an eye out for the following immersive escape area experience jumping off a screen near you soon!


Of course this is not a new principle yet after years of digital fact parading as the cool big brother in the world of immersive experiences, escape rooms have actually been with confidence functioning with the experiential rankings to take the title of legally 'wow'. The Escape Game in Austin Texas (America's most prominent escape experience) being taken over by FOX in time for the launch of a new collection of Prison Break, and HBO establishing up a multi-room setup themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley. Escape 60 in Brazil drew off a blinding instance of this in 2015 when they linked up with Ubisoft, the makers of fantasy behemoth Assassin's Creed, to obtain ahead of the game and also produce an escape room orchestrated around the launch of Assassin's Creed Distribute. Alex Reece, CEO of America's Escape Game, commented in an interview at the time (October 2016), "We see a really brilliant future of incorporating escape rooms powered by America's Escape Game in multiple Vistana areas in the coming months as well as years. That stated, it doesn't look like this advertising and marketing method is slowing up, so look out for the following immersive escape area experience leaping off a display near you soon!

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